Summer Break in New York

I haven’t posted in a long time because I was busy traveling to los Estados Unidos for a summer break. I made the trip because my sister Amy was getting married to George! It was my first trip back to the North since moving to Argentina 9 months ago. During the overnight flight, the pilot came on the loudspeaker and woke us all up to tell us that Argentina had beat Mexico in a World Cup match, and everyone cheered.In the morning I woke up for my transfer in Atlanta. I walked off the plane sleepy and confused and found myself surrounded by huge fat people speaking English everywhere. At first I felt a little revolted but actually every single person in the Atlanta airport was disarmingly friendly and sweet. I had a hard time remembering which language to speak for the first few days.First I went to New York for a few weeks and had so much fun working back in the office at Oshkosh and seeing all my friends. The first few days in New York I felt completely happy and high on summertime and so excited to see all my friends. I stayed at Sara’s house in Greenpoint and I realized, walking down a silent tree-filled street on a warm Friday morning with sunshine sparkling on the East River, thinking about the friends I would see that evening, an ice cream shop on one side of me and a shady cafe on the other side, that Greenpoint is the most beautiful place in the whole city.

Other highlights were making dinner with Andrew and Vickie and Angie just like old times! and going to see Band of Horses at the McCarren Pool. It felt like summer camp. It was great to be back in my old city with nothing to do but see the people I love and have a good time. And work. In truth, by the end of two weeks I was so totally completely exhausted from working all day every day and going out to meet friends every night.

Then Emily and I left town and drove upstate to spend a few days at a house on Somerset lake in the Catskills. I didn’t know the other people there but they turned out to be great company and great cooks. We spent a few days napping and reading on the dock by the lake, jumping in for a swim, buying corn at the farmers market, making delicious meals, going for evening paddles in the canoe, falling asleep listening to frogs and crickets.